Rift Preview and Mini-Interview

Rift is a full-feature MMORPG set in the world of Telara where you fight for control as either a Guardian or Defiant.  It features everything that a good MMO game should have including Guilds, dungeons, raids, auctions, crafting, a vibrant economy and of course player versus player combat.  Players invade and attempt to gain control of as much land as possible.

Every detail of the game is meticulously “arted.”  The scenery detail is exquisite and developers do not assume that players will be too busy to make note of the environmental details.  They have brought polish to every part of their game and they fully believe that more is not better; better is better.

In sitting down with Hal Hanlin, Producer, it was evident that Trion is very excited about the developments they’ve made as well as the fact that they have kept the core of true MMO gaming.  There is a definite sense of “Don’t fix what isn’t broken” so that MMO gamers will continue to have the experience they are looking for.  They feel that the game’s defining feature is the class system which is structured quite differently from your average MMO in that you can “mix and match” from eight different classes, or what developers refer to as “Souls.”

For example, if you want to play a rogue, there are eight different versions of a rogue and you can pair three different splices of rogue to create your own version. At the click of a button, you can activate a different role.  These talents to change your character’s roles can be bought using currency in gameplay received from completing quests and unlocking new abilities.  If you are soloing you can choose one role and then you can change roles with a simple click if you are, for example, entering a dungeon.  These changes in role do not require the player to exit and then return to gameplay, but rather, at any time during play.  Trion want players to experiment with character roles as much as they can and even suggest that they want players to “literally break our system.”

Rift developers treat the game as a live service as they will continue to roll out new content.  On June 22, 2011 there will be a new world event that will be the opening of the biggest raid in the game.  Every player in the world will be able to contribute during this and every raid despite current rankings.  Currently, there is a current test server that players are using and they can often be seen in demos at E3 in an attempt to be famous in hopes of being televised.

The developers and designers of Rift are very proud of creating a game that removes barriers away from letting players play the game the way they want to play it.  Trion follows a lot of the standards of current MMO games but elevating the standards the new heights.  They believe in listening to their players and creating and developing the game in such a way that encompasses the wants and needs as expressed in forums and feedback.

In terms of accessibility, you can create macros to customize the key bindings to whatever you prefer.  This game can be played single-handily and precision is not an issue.  If you can move the mouse, and right and left click, you can play this game.

Stay tuned for Steve's full accessibility review.